


When a Wolf Runs Alone

by Subject_of_Ridicule



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Amity Blight Needs a Hug, Angst, BAMF Luz Noceda, Bad Parents Alador Blight and Odalia Blight, Bisexual Disaster Luz Noceda, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Disaster Amity Blight, Good Parent Camila Noceda, Good Parent Eda Clawthorne, Luz Noceda Needs a Hug, Luz Noceda has ADHD, Protective Luz Noceda, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:22:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29951970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Subject_of_Ridicule/pseuds/Subject_of_Ridicule
Summary: Luz Noceda has spent the last sixteen years of her life by her mother's side. It was too risky for her to be left alone lest she reveal their long-held familial secret: they're all werewolves.Luz didn't have any friends and she continuously got in trouble at school but her mother needed her by her side, for what is a wolf without its pack?One night when Luz can't seem to fall asleep, she goes for a run in the woods in her wolf form only to feel a strange pull that led her to an old shack in the woods.Camila has the rest of the family to fall back on when her daughter goes missing but what about Luz? Life doesn't end well for lone wolves...right?
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 33
Kudos: 128





	1. The Night it Began

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic so constructive criticism is much appreciated. This will be a Lumity fic but I've got to build up to that. It will follow the timeline of the canon episodes to a degree but I'm not going to rewrite every episode, if one gets skipped, assume it happened exactly as it did in the show. I'm going to try to update frequently but I do have classes so take that with a grain of salt. I really hope you guys enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Brown eyes snap open to see a room illuminated by silver rays of moonlight. Luz scanned her bedroom to see that it is as it always is, a pile of clothes on the floor, a small desk piled high with books and papers, jackets hanging from the back of her desk chair, and a small window next to the bed where she lay awake, unable to sleep. A low rumble emerges from her chest as she rolls over and checks the time.

 _ **2:14 am.** Great._

Tired of tossing and turning, she sits up and rubs her eyes. Letting out a deep sigh, the teen stands and walks to her desk. After grabbing a pen and a sticky note, she writes out a small message for her mother and places it on her door: 

_Couldn’t sleep. Went for a run. Be back later._

Luz knew that odds were she’d get back before her mother woke for work but it didn’t hurt to be careful.

Grabbing her phone and keys on the way out, Luz quietly makes her way down the stairs and through the back door of the house, locking it behind her. A glance at the forest just beyond the backyard reveals a dark and deep wood, the only evidence of living creatures within being a few small hoots and the shuffling of feet on the forest floor. Luz pauses and listens closely for any potential threats, man or beast, before ultimately deeming it safe to walk into. 

Taking a familiar path into the trees, Luz comes to a stop at the base of an old oak. Reaching around the trunk she finds a bag hidden beneath the brush. She places it on the ground at her feet before cracking her back, neck, and knuckles and then slowly stripping out of her clothes. Putting all her belongings inside the pouch, Luz turns, and the familiar snapping of bones accompanies her shift into her wolf form. 

Shaking out her fur and stretching low to the ground, she reaches out, grabs the bag in her jaws, and bolts deeper into the forest. The slight breeze immediately calms her down, the odd sense of stress from earlier almost completely melting away in the wake of the midnight run.

She wasn’t running long before something inside her made her stop. Confused, Luz shakes her head and perks her ears up. Slowly scanning the forest, she feels a strange pull to begin moving east. Luz hesitates, moving further in that direction would take her off the territory her mother and her have claimed, but the pull returns, doubled in intensity, and she begins to run again. 

The sensation grows stronger with each step until an old shack comes into view, weather damaged and seemingly unlivable but very much the source of Luz’s odd instinct. She slows down as she approaches, carefully considering what to do. She decides to circle the clearing from within the trees a few times, keeping her eyes and ears peeled for any source of life, carefully sniffing around as well. It seems an animal or two has come through here but not in the last hour, certainly no people. Stopping behind a tree, Luz shifts back into her human form before quickly redressing and slinging her bag over her shoulder. 

Cautiously approaching the front door, Luz considers turning back, simply heading home and going to sleep, but the mere thought causes her to let out a whine from the back of her throat. Pausing in her movements, _What was that?_ Without the chance to ruminate on her unusual behavior, the odd feeling returns, flowing through her bones and pulling her forward once more. Just as she is about to reach the open doorway, she pauses once more, a hand settled on the wooden frame of the porch, _This all feels so eerie. Something is wrong here. I should head back._ But once again the sensation pulses through her, a fiery red-hot feeling that leaves her breathless, pushing her to walk through the doorway. Upon her foot crossing the threshold, the air shimmers, glows, and sucks her right in. 

“Whoa!” Luz stumbles through but catches herself before she could fall flat on her face (it had happened before). Glancing at her surroundings, she appeared to be in a room (maybe a closet?) filled to the brim with junk. “I thought I had a lot of weird stuff. But this, this is impressive.”

Snapping out of her reverie, Luz turns around to walk outside once more only to find a wall behind her. Furrowing her eyebrows, she reaches out a hand and places it in the center of the wall. Pushing against the wall seemed to have no effect and, now that she thinks about it, the wall seems to be made of a completely different material than the wooden shack she _thought_ she had walked into.

Luz continued investigating the wall and room at large for the doorway she entered through, but she suddenly heard someone approaching the room. Just as she began to search the piles of junk for a place to hide, a door creaked open, letting in light from the hallway beyond the room. “Alright, Owlbert. What was so important you had to wake me up at 3 in the morning to—“ the figure stopped and stared as they caught sight of Luz standing in the center of the room. 

“Uh, hi?” 

Suddenly a wooden staff was thrust right in front of her face as the figure took a defensive stance, “Who are you? What are you doing in my house?”

“Okay, okay,” Luz raised her hands in what she hoped was a placating gesture, “I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry. I honestly have no idea what’s going on right now because this definitely doesn’t look like the shack I walked into and—”

The figure’s golden eyes flickered around Luz’s face before settling on her ears. They let out a sigh and lowered the staff, “Oh. You’re human, that makes more sense.”

Luz paused, sweating slightly _She doesn’t know, she can’t know, how would she know?_ Focusing back in on the conversation, “…That’s kind of a weird thing for another human to say.”

“Ha! I’m not like you, child. I am Eda the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles!” The figure – Eda, apparently – struck a pose, one hand raising her staff, the other placed firmly on her hip. “…And it is too early for this! I’m going back to sleep.” With a halfhearted wave that was more of just flicking her wrist in Luz’s direction, Eda began to stalk back out of the room.

“Wait! You can’t just drop a bombshell like that on me and then leave.”

“Sure I can, kid. I just did. My house, my rules.”

Luz manages to get in front of her and turns to face her, “Please, I’m really confused, and I don’t know where I am or what’s happening and I—”

“Alright, alright,” Eda sighs again, “I’ll explain this stuff to ya, just not right now. It’s three in the morning and this will be an easier conversation when I’m not dead on my feet. C’mon, I’ll show you a place where you can sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.”

Luz glances at her skeptically but the tired expression on Eda’s face convinces her to agree. “Alright, lead the way.”

Eda began her walk through the house again, this time with Luz trailing obediently, and quietly, along behind her. Walking up the stairs, she stops in front of a door and gestures towards it with the hand not holding her staff, “It’s not much. I don’t really have guests so there’s no bed, but you can set up a place to sleep with the blankets and pillows that are in there. Night, kid.”

Before Luz can respond, Eda disappears down the hallway leaving her alone. 

In the dark.

In a stranger’s house. 

At three in the morning. 

“This is fine,” she shakily declares before moving to open the door and checking out the room Eda had led her to.

“Not much” was putting it lightly. The room Luz found herself in was more like a closet with a window at one end. A chest sat against one wall and some junk lay strewn around the place, just like everywhere in this house she had been so far – though, to be fair, that was only two rooms and she did drop in very much unannounced. The moonlight streaming in through the window bounced off the dust floating through the air, and despite its shortcomings, the room looked beautiful.

Moving toward the chest on the left side of the room, Luz opened it to find blankets and pillows – which she promptly dumped in the middle of the floor, after kicking the junk to one side of the room. Luz set to work laying down the blankets and pillows so she would be at least semi-comfortable. At this point, she was so exhausted from lack of sleep and her run that she probably could have just passed out on the wood floor, but the thought of how sore she would be in the morning was enough to give her the patience to build a sort of nest of pillows and blankets.

Grumbling slightly, she removed her jacket and shirt leaving her in a tank top and the pair of sweatpants she had been wearing. The girl yawned and fell forward onto her makeshift bed after carefully placing her bag down next to her pillow. She curled up under the blanket and snuggled into the pillow, already drifting off to sleep.

~~~

The next morning – aka just a few hours later – Luz awoke to find herself in a place that was most definitely **not** her room. Clambering to her feet and positioning herself so her back was to one of the walls, she carefully scanned her surroundings. Remembering the previous night’s events, Luz slowly calmed down and settled her wolf back into a passive state.

A few deep breaths later, Luz felt well enough to gather her belongings and put the bedding back where she had found it. Stopping by the door to check she had everything one last time, she turned and walked out.

It was only when she was standing alone in the middle of the hallway that Luz remembered she has next to no knowledge about the building she’s in or where the one person that she had managed to meet here had wandered off to. 

Before she could come to a decision on whether she should just go back and wait in the room, Luz picked up the sound of someone moving towards her. Snapping her head to the right and bunching up her muscles instinctually, Luz saw the woman from last night round the corner rubbing her eyes.

“Oh good, you’re awake. Makes things easier,” Eda paused and looked her up and down, “C’mon, we can talk once I’ve gotten breakfast ready. I’m sure you must be hungry.”

She simply nodded and moved to follow Eda as she led the way back down the stairs and into a kitchen. “So,” Luz began from her spot in the corner, “where am I?”

Eda snorted at that while rummaging through her cupboards for a mug. “You’re in my house.”

Luz deadpanned, “Yeah, no, I got that. But like, where is that exactly?”

She got a hum in response as Eda grabbed her ‘Thirty & Flirty’ mug and filled it with a strange red liquid – _wine maybe? No, it’s not dark enough._ “Well,” a sip, “we’re a little ways outside of Bonesborough which is the nearest city if that’s what you’re wondering.”

Luz’s grip on the strap of her bag tightened and she squinted her eyes as she tried to think of whether she had ever heard that name before. “Um…”

“I’m just messing with ya, kid. We’re in the Boiling Isles, which is located in a Demon Realm outside of your Human Realm. Every myth and fantastical story you have over there is from a little of our world leaking into yours,” Eda shuffled around the kitchen again, grabbing a skillet and other utensils before turning to Luz, “You want pancakes or waffles?”

“Huh?”

“Pancakes or waffles? You guys have pancakes and waffles over there don’t ya?”

Luz shook her head to clear her mind, “Oh, uh, yeah we do. Sorry just processing the fact that I am in a _whole other realm._ ”

_This can’t be real, can it? I mean, coming from a family of werewolves it shouldn’t be **that** farfetched that other things exist too. But a whole other realm?! I’ve never even heard of the Boiling Isles before. Maybe I should ask Mami about it._

Luz looked up from her thoughts when she realized Eda had not moved and was instead staring intently at her. “Uhm, yes?”

Eda’s lips twitched up in a smirk as she held back a laugh. Raising an eyebrow, she spoke again, “You never answered me, kid.”

“OH! Right, uh, pancakes?”

Eda nodded and began moving around the kitchen once more.

Now that it was morning, Luz could actually get a good look at the witch. A wild mane of silver hair sat atop her head and stretched down to the middle of her back. The old sweater and skirt that served as her pajamas had a couple stains and tears. _The bunny slippers absolutely tie the whole look together,_ Luz smiled to herself.

Glancing at her from the corner of her eye, Eda spoke again, “You seem to be taking this quite well. Most humans have a hard time adjusting to their own issues amongst themselves, but a whole new world is dropped on your shoulders and you’re just…waiting to eat some pancakes.”

“I mean,” Luz started, “it’s not like there’s anything I can do about it. Plus, it’s kinda cool that I get to see a place like this. And apparently, I’ve met the most powerful witch around, so I’ve got that going for me.”

“Damn right!”

Luz chuckled and looked out the window while Eda made breakfast. _An entire world full of people like me? Maybe I won’t have to hide myself here._ Looking back over at Eda, she smiles. A magical glow surrounding the spatula moves it to flip the pancake on the stove while Eda idly sips her mug and watches the food. _Maybe I can get her to teach me some magic while I’m at it. I have always wanted to do amazing things like that._

The light sound of footsteps in another room snaps Luz out of her daze. Narrowing her eyes at the doorway, she asks, “Hey, Eda?”

A yawn, “Yeah, what’s up?”

“Is someone else here?” The footsteps are getting closer and closer to the kitchen, causing Luz to steadily become more and more tense.

Eda listens intently for a moment before scrunching her eyebrows and checking the time, “Wow, he’s up early.”

Luz goes to question her meaning when the footsteps pick up speed. Turning her head to the doorway, she sees a small black blur zoom from out of the hallway into the kitchen and hops up onto the table in the center.

“The King of Demons demands pancakes!” an adorable creature with black fur and a skull on top of his head screeches at Eda and Luz can’t help but coo at him. “Aye que lindo! Eda he’s so cute!” Picking him up and snuggling him close to her face, the creature begins to stir and struggle in her arms. Pushing away her face he turns to Eda, “Eda, who is this monster?”

Eda simply shakes her head before grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and placing him on the ground, pushing Luz’s face back with her other hand to make sure she lets go. “King, this is…huh, I guess I didn’t actually catch your name, kid?”

“Oh, right! I’m Luz, Luz Noceda! Nice to meet you,” Luz smiles brightly.

The corners of Eda’s lips turn upwards, “Right. So King, this is Luz. I found her in the human junk room at three in the morning.” King carefully considers what she said, turning to respond but is cut off, “Kid, this is King, my roommate. Well, he lives here, and I tolerate his presence. He doesn’t pay rent or anything.”

King lets out an indignant squawk at the slight dig, but ultimately decides against responding to that, instead turning his attention back to his stomach, “Food! You will feed me!” he declares while pointing at her.

Eda chuckles and pats him on the head on her way back over to the counter where the stack of pancakes she had made lay cooling on a plate. King clambers up onto the table as Eda sets the plate down before smacking his paws away. “Oww, why?”

“You have the patience – and size – of a two-year-old,” Eda shakes her head, “Wait a second while I grab plates for us, you little munchkin.”

King stamps his foot on the table, releasing a small squeak of rage, before again being piled into Luz’s arms, “Oh ho ho, he stamped his wittle foot. Who’s a cute little guy? Is it you? Yes, it is!”

“I am not your cute little guy!” 

A small kiss on the forehead calms his struggle, “Yes, you are.”

He sighs and curls up in Luz’s lap, “Yeah, I am.”

Eda lets out another snort as she again approaches the table, dishware in hand, “The mighty King of Demons felled by a teenage human? Never thought I’d see the day.”

King begins to struggle again, a small ‘Weh!’ leaving his mouth. A hand smoothly runs through his fur on his back, successfully calming him down once more, “Whatever. The scritches are worth it.”

Luz giggles to herself while running her nails along his small body. She picks up a plate for herself and another for King and begins to pile pancakes on top of each. Finally letting go of the demon, he stands in her lap and boldly declares, “This shall be my new royal subject! I must tell Francois immediately.” He hops down and scampers out of the kitchen.

A quirk of her brow is enough to tell Eda context was needed, “Eh, that’s his little stuffed rabbit he found a while back. His ‘right hand man’ apparently. I wouldn’t look too far into it.”

Luz just nodded and turned her attention to the food. Despite being in a different realm, pancakes never fail to make her happy in the morning. Scarfing down her meal in record time as King returns and digs into his own plate from his spot back on Luz’s lap, a small bunny sat next to him.

The domestic moment makes Luz smile, she doesn’t often get to spend mornings with her mom because of her job so it feels really nice to spend it with other people. Clearing her throat, Luz brings her attention back to the matter at hand, “Okay, so you’ve explained where I am, but you still haven’t told me how I got here. All I did was walk into an old house and then suddenly I’m,” she pauses, glancing out the window to see various creatures running, flying, and swimming about, “here.”

Eda coughs a little and moves to scratch the side of her face, “Right, well, I’ve got this portal that leads into your realm, but it can be a little finicky. Usually, I just send Owlbert through to gather some human junk and bring it back here to sell, but—” 

“Wait, who’s Owlbert?”

Eda looks at her incredulously, “Really, kid? I’m trying to explain why you suddenly dropped into a strange alternate realm and you get stuck on Owlbert.”

Luz at least looked sheepish as she responded, “Well, yeah. I met this little cutie,” emphasizing her point by petting King as he continued to eat, “but I don’t know anyone else. Plus, I heard you mention that name last night but never saw who you were talking to.”

Consideration crosses her features before Eda sighs and holds her hand out. A clanging of objects is heard from deeper within the house, steadily growing closer and closer to the room they sat in before what Luz recognized as Eda’s staff from the night before came shooting through the doorway. The staff collided with Eda’s face with a resounding smack. She groaned, rubbing her nose, and leaned over to pick it up, muttering about it “being too early for this.”

Turning to face Luz, Eda places the staff upright in front of her so she can get a good look, “This is my staff.”

“Right, I kind of figured that.”

The witch rolled her eyes, “I’m ignoring that. Anyways, this is my staff, and this,” she gestures to the owl figurine on the top before moving her hand to unscrew it, “is Owlbert.” As the figurehead was released from the base of the staff, it transformed from wood into a real owl.

“Oh my gosh, he’s so cute I’m gonna die!” Luz squealed, her eyes seeming to literally sparkle as Owlbert turned is head and hooted happily in her direction.

“He’s my palisman, a friend and partner for life,” Eda smiles as Owlbert coos softly and nuzzles her neck and jaw.

Blinking rapidly, Eda turns back to Luz, “So are you going to let me continue now?”

“Oh!” her eyes widen before Luz vigorously nods her head, “Yes, please. Sorry ‘bout that.”

“It’s fine, kid. So, as I was saying, a few days ago the portal stopped responding like normal. Opening at random times, never staying open for longer than a couple of minutes. I can’t even get it to open for me at all anymore. I figure something must have damaged it somehow, but I don’t have a way to fix it or to tell when it will open,” she glances at Owlbert before returning her gaze to the girl before her, “My guess as for how you’re here is that it might have something to do with the Witching Hour or the fact that it was a full moon.”

_That’s right. It was a full moon last night in the Human Realm as well, that’s probably why I was feeling so restless._

Luz shook her head before deciding to question Eda a little further, “I also had this really weird feeling right before I went in, do you know anything about that?”

Eda’s expression changes to one of confusion, “Feeling? Like when you stepped through the portal?”

“No, no, I mean like– ugh this is hard to explain. So, I felt almost called, I guess? Like I **had** to head to that shack. It only kept getting stronger as I approached and even the thought of turning around made it intensify until I was pulled through.”

“Huh,” Eda leaned back in her chair, carefully looking at the girl in front of her, “I have never heard of something like that before,” she scratched her chin, “How did you feel anything? Humans don’t have any innate ability for performing or sensing magic.”

_Shit._

“Oh, haha. I don’t know. I guess it was silly anyway, never mind.” 

Luz frantically looked anywhere but at Eda, causing her to lean forward on her elbows, “Kid…” she watched as Luz gulped, “I can’t help you if you aren’t honest with me.”

_What do I do? I’ve never told anyone before. It’s a family secret! I can’t just reveal it to strangers. Then again, this is a realm of magic and monsters, maybe it’ll be okay? Crap, she’s still waiting for me to respond._

“I…” Luz sighed, “Sorry, I just. It’s complicated.”

“Look, kid. I’m not here to judge. I’ve done, and seen, some weird shit in my time, but if you want to get back home,” Eda looked at her fervently, “we’ve got to know what’s going on.”

Luz swallowed once more, but before she could say anything, King piped up, “She’s not human.”

He said it so nonchalantly that even Luz was surprised to hear it. He glanced up from his place licking his plate clean when he felt eyes on him, “What? She was struggling to say it and you didn’t know what was going on.”

“Okay, yeah, I was having a tough time but how do you even know that?!” Luz demanded.

“You smell weird. Not like the other human stuff we’ve come into contact with almost…demon-like? No, that’s not it…” King paused to continue thinking, a claw tapping at his chin.

Deciding to put him out of his misery and because there really was no going back now anyway, Luz spoke again, “My family is a long line of werewolves—”

“Wolfish! That’s it!”

Despite her having just said that, King looked so excited to have come to this conclusion ‘on his own’ that Luz just let him have it, “Yeah, wolfish.”

“Oh, is that it?” Eda leaned back again and took a swig of her drink – _I should really figure out what that is, it looks so weird. Wait. What?_

Luz sputtered, “Huh? W-What do you mean ‘is that it’? This is a long held familial secret! We’ve never told anyone who wasn’t a part of the family or a very close, trustworthy friend. Humans would hunt us down if they knew!” Setting her mug down on the table, Eda gave Luz a look, “Kid, I’m a witch, King is a demon, and Owlbert is sometimes made of wood. You really think you being a werewolf is that big a deal?”

Relief crashed like a wave over Luz as she realized she could be well and truly honest with someone for once in her life, “Oh thank god, I was so nervous.” She folded her arms on the table and laid her forehead down in the middle, “I’m so used to being the weirdo, even though people didn’t know about me they still thought I was strange. I don’t even know why,” she turned her head to the side, “Maybe I was too excitable or something.”

A scoff causes her to raise her head back up, “Who cares? Being a weirdo is awesome. Us weirdos gotta stick together.” Eda smiles gently and winks at her, causing Luz to relax further, “You guys don’t think I’m too weird?”

“Nah, kid. You just be you.”

Luz ducks her head as she feels her eyes begin to sting, “I’ve known you for less than twenty-four hours and I already feel more welcome here than I have anywhere else in my life.”

Eda snorts, “Alright, well, since I am kind of the reason you're stuck here for the foreseeable future, you can stay here. I am gonna need some help running errands and my businesses though.”

Luz nods in agreement, “Yeah, that seems fair. I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t do anything to help out anyway.”

“Alright,” Eda sets her hands flat on the table and stands up, “King is going to help me clean up the kitchen, you can head back up to your room and start cleaning it up. Make it a little more livable, ya know?”

Luz just grins in response before placing King on the floor and heading back up the stairs. 

_Maybe I stumbled along the right path this time._

~~~

Down in the kitchen, King notices Eda lost in thought and walks up to her, “I like her. She will make a valuable addition to my army of darkness.”

Eda chuckles but quickly turns serious again, “I don’t know what’s up, but I hope we can help her. Not just anything would be able to reach through a portal and urge someone through,” her eyes narrow, “but I aim to find out what.”


	2. The Day After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Camila finds Luz's note.
> 
> Luz goes on a quest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took some creative liberties with the Noceda family considering we know next to nothing about them in canon. This is my fic though so I get to make up as many characters as I want lmao. I fixed some formatting issues I noted in the last chapter and a grammar mistake or two. As long as you aren't a jerk about it, please feel free to let me know if you see anything like that. This chapter is a little shorter but that's because it's really meant to establish Luz and Camila's relationship and how they react to the possibility of not seeing each other for a while. We probably won't see Camila again for a bit, just like in the show, sorry for anyone who wanted more Camila content but I want to get cracking on the meat of the story. Also, if you didn't notice, this is rated Teen because I let the characters swear sometimes (which is also part of the reason I aged up the characters by two years). Okay, anyway, onto the chapter!

Camila Noceda woke up to the blaring of an alarm in her ear. Despite having worked morning shifts for the past twenty years, waking up never really got easier for her. A light growl escaped her lips as she held herself back from smashing the clock into her bedside table. The sweet release the silence provided was enough to calm her down. A deep sigh left her mouth as she rolled out of bed to begin getting ready for the day.

_**5:00 am.** I hate mornings. _

Swiftly moving about her room, Camila got ready for her day in a sleepy haze that was ever so slowly beginning to clear from her mind. Pulling on her uniform and grabbing her phone, she finally exited her room to begin the day.

Walking down the hall to check on her daughter as she does every morning before she leaves for work, Camila couldn’t help but feel a little off. Brushing it off as exhaustion, she approached the door to her daughter’s room before the bright splotch of color sitting eye level on the door caught her sight.

_A run? When did she even leave last night? And why isn’t she back yet?_

She cracked the door open. The dark room was empty of life, Luz’s bed not even made and her phone missing from its spot on her nightstand. _At least she didn’t go out unprepared._

The uneasy feeling didn’t quite leave her as she proceeded through the rest of her routine, but Camila could only hope that her daughter would return while she was at work. Locking the front door behind her, she set off to the hospital.

~~~

_This feels wrong, like really wrong._

The quest had been going perfectly, a little too perfectly. Luz had known something was off the whole time, that wizard gave her the heebie jeebies, and each person she came across smelled **exactly** the same. Not similar, the same scent on each person she passed. Not to mention the “cape” and “jewelry” felt heavy and off while on her body.

She really had no idea what she was thinking when she took the quest. Maybe she felt like there was something to prove after Eda and King’s reactions to it. It doesn’t matter, what matters right now is what is in front of her.

_Every single person I met on this trip stopped before entering this cave, which has been putting my wolf on edge since the moment I walked in…yeah, I don’t trust this place._

Slowly removing the cape and each piece of jewelry from her body, Luz moved closer to the lake in the center of the chamber. A quick sniff revealed what she had assumed, this place was fake. There was no water or staff, just emptiness. If anything, it smelled of dust and decay.

Her eyes flitted across the room, searching for any exits or escape routes. A resounding _thunk_ from down the corridor ruled out the way she came in.

Luz stood at the edge of the lake but made no move to retrieve the staff, patiently waiting for her observer to make a mistake. Controlling each breath in and out of her body, she lowered her heart rate and tapped into her wolf’s senses. Red leaked into her irises until it completely overtook the brown.

Finally, a shuffle sounded to the left of her as something approached. Pretending not to notice their presence, Luz began to prepare for an attack.

“Foolish human!” _Ah, there it is._

Luz gave the being no time to continue as she felt her fingernails transform into claws and her ears shift to the top of her head, taking on a more canine shape. A tail sprouted from her back and her teeth elongated into fangs. Faster than the creature could react, Luz bounded over to it in two quick steps, releasing a guttural roar as she raked her claws straight through the flesh of its head.

A hiss escaped the creature – it hadn’t even the time to boast its name and plan to her – as it fell to the ground. Each person she had met on her journey falling to ash as its main body shrank until it was only about the size of her head.

“Huh,” Luz whipped her head up to stare at Eda and King approaching her, “I was not expecting that. Good job, kid.”

Luz shook her head and pulled back her wolf, her features returning to their human appearance once again. Her eyes were the last to change back, Eda staring intently at her as the red faded completely.

“I’m sorry, guys,” Luz hung her head, “I knew something was off with that dude I just…I don’t know. Wanted to prove something? That I’m worth something?”

“Kid, you don’t…Ya know what?” Eda stopped and turned to where King was poking the demon on the ground, “King, stop messing around! We’re leaving!”

A ‘Weh!’ was the only response he gave, but he did begin moving back towards where Eda and Luz were standing only now, he was carrying the creature with him. Eda snatched it out of his hand and ate it in one smooth gulp, “Hey! I wanted him to join my army,” King pouted.

“Cheer up, little man. This was the only way to make sure he doesn’t come back to try and get me again. Besides, we’re going someplace cool.”

“We are? But I thought…I caused you so much trouble…” _Just like I always do…_

Eda just shook her head, “Get on the staff, kid. I’ll explain when we get there.”

~~~

“Wow…” Luz stared at the world below her in disbelief, her blindfold held limply in one hand.

“Up close the Isles aren’t exactly the nicest place. People are always trying to scam you; creatures are trying to eat you—”

“And it’s very stinky!” King added in, Luz nodding her agreement with a disgusted look on her face.

“And it can be very stinky, yes,” Eda turned to look out over the place she called home once more, “but look at it from a different angle and it can be…”

“Breathtaking.”

Eda smiled and shook her head, “Yeah, kid. Breathtaking. But what I really wanted to say was that no one is a ‘Chosen One.’ No matter how hard you want to be one, the world doesn’t work like that,” Eda turned to Luz and made sure to catch her gaze before continuing, “If you keep waiting around for some prophecy to make you special, you’re going to die waiting. That’s why,” she leaned back and took in the view again, “you’ve got to choose yourself.”

Luz smiled softly, “Yeah, I’ll think on that.”

Eda chuckled, “Oh yeah, nice job dealing with that puppeteer demon on your own, kid. I thought we were gonna have to swoop in and save you, but you handled yourself really well.”

“Yeah,” Luz looks out to the horizon wistfully, “I learned from the best.”

~~~

The sun was setting, and Luz still wasn’t home. None of her phone calls or text messages were going through. _This isn’t like her. Maybe something’s wrong?_

Despite not wanting to jump to worst case scenario, that’s exactly what Camila had started to do when she arrived home and Luz was still missing. She could feel her wolf getting riled up, missing the comforting presence of her pup.

_Fuck it._

Camila grabs her bag and bolts into the trees behind her house. Pausing by Luz’s favorite tree, she dug around in the brush for her bag only to come back empty handed. _So she definitely came through here. She’ll be easier to track if I shift._ Camila stretched and placed her clothes in her bag, shifting to her four-legged form.

Carefully sniffing around the base of the tree, she picked up the faintest trace of her daughter’s familiar scent. Immediately, she grabbed her bag and sprinted in the direction it led. It was only about half an hour later when Camila noticed Luz had changed directions rather abruptly. 

_East? Why would she go that way? She knows that’s unclaimed territory. She could get hurt! Oh, mija…_

Following the scent at a much slower pace now, Camila kept her senses sharp in case anything was to approach her while she was distracted. Arriving at an old cabin in the woods, she noticed the scent ended here.

_That’s odd. The scent ends here but I can’t sense her or hear her anywhere near here._

That feeling of unease reared its ugly head again just under her skin, causing her to let out a huff and shake out her chocolate fur once before transforming back into her human form.

The shack wasn’t much, it looked unstable actually, but Camila couldn’t leave without checking it for any trace of her missing daughter. Walking over the creaky floorboards did nothing to ease the tension in her body.

She walked past the doorframe into the house only to realize Luz’s scent had suddenly stopped. The trail leads right up to the door, but she also never entered the house. Neither did she turn around, her scent doesn’t double back anywhere at all.

_Okay this is not good **at all.**_

~~~

A few phone calls later and half the Noceda clan was standing around outside this shack, searching the area for any sign of Luz. Camila sat on the steps frustrated and confused. Luz still wasn’t answering her phone, in fact the messages kept coming back marked ‘undelivered’ and the call didn’t even ring once before going to voicemail.

_This isn’t like her! She wouldn’t just run away…would she?_

Sat with her head in her hands, Camila is only comforted by the presence of the remainder of her family – her pack members. Her brothers stood around attempting to catch any hint of Luz’s scent leading away from the cabin again. Some of her cousins had set off into the woods back the way she came to see if anything was missed, though Camila doubted they were going to find anything that way. It was nice they were all trying. 

A hand was set softly against her shoulder and Camila glanced up at the looming figure of her older brother standing in front of her, “Camila…it is getting late. We should get you home.”

At that Camila glared at him, “What good am I to her if I’m at home instead of out here looking?”

Mateo simply shook his head, “What good are you to anyone if you are so exhausted you cannot keep your eyes open?” she had no response for that, “C’mon, I’ll drive you home.”

She sighed but relented, allowing her brother to drag her away from the house, and the last place she could be sure her Luz had been.

~~~

Getting back to The Owl House that night, Luz couldn’t help but apologize to Eda a few more times for wasting her time and worrying her. Eda simply reassured her that she wasn’t mad, “Far from it actually, I’m proud of you, kid. You did good today.” A giddy smile spread across Luz’s face as she quickly captured Eda in a hug before running up the stairs to her room.

The excitement of the day had finally gotten out of her system, leaving her drained and tired. Quickly changing her clothes – it’s a good thing she always kept several outfits tucked into this bag – Luz plopped herself down onto her ‘bed’ for the night.

As she stared at the ceiling, she couldn’t help but think about what Eda had told her earlier, _Choose yourself. Just gotta, choose myself? Can’t be too hard I suppose._

Her mind suddenly shifted to the only other person who had ever chosen her. 

_Mami…I’m so sorry._

Fiddling with her phone earlier had proven useless. There was no signal or wifi of any kind, not that she could even charge it once it began to die.

Squeezing her eyes tight, Luz barely held in the tears that wanted to stream down her face. Her chest ached at the thought of never seeing her mother again, leaving her to wonder what happened to her daughter for the rest of her life.

_Maybe she’s better off without me,_ a whine escaped her lips, _all I ever did was cause her trouble anyway._

Luz stared into the darkness surrounding her, “Lo siento, Mami.”

The door creaking open broke her train of thought. Hastily wiping the edges of her eyes for any traitorous tears, she looked over to see King peeking into the room.

“Your sleep cocoon looks cozy.”

Luz just smiled and patted the blanket at her feet before crawling under the covers herself. _Maybe we aren’t together, but at least I know we both have people to rely on._ That comforting thought lulling her into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehe, the angst tag is there for a reason, my dudes. Luz absolutely has self esteem issues, this is the hill I will die on. Anyway, don't be shy, leave a comment. They make me really happy to read, I love knowing that people actually want to read this. Makes it easier to write.


	3. I Turn Into a Pile of Goo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz is a bi disaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to establish in the first two chapters that Luz is not quite the naïve child she is in the series. In this one, however, I want to make it clear that she is still very much our little ball of sunshine and energy who cares about her friends so much it hurts.
> 
> They're all a little older, but I'm trying to keep them mostly in character as much as I can just with a little less of the childhood innocence and naivety.
> 
> Also, this is the longest chapter yet but it probably won't be the longest for very much time. So if you like long chapters, yay!

“Fore!”

Eda took a mighty swing of her pick straight into the jaws of what used to be a trash slug. The resulting shattering of teeth and the crunch of sand as they hit the ground echoed throughout the beach.

Luz stood a good twenty feet away from the carcass, doing her best to breathe as little as possible. “Eda,” she said while placing a hand over her nose, pinching her nostrils shut, “how long are we gonna be here? It smells so bad,” she gagged slightly, “I might throw up.”

Eda turned around to look at her apprentice, “Eh, you’ll be fine, kid. Get on in here! These things pick up so much crap during their lifetimes! We’ll just need the next couple of hours to sort through all the good stuff.”

Luz whimpered, “Hours? Eda, I can’t even breathe here. Can we do something else? Maybe actually study magic? You told me you’d help me learn.”

Eda snorted at the nasally tone of voice Luz was forced to use before sobering, “I know, Luz. I promised I’d teach ya and that’s exactly what I’m doing! You can learn so many things looking through the corpse of a dead animal.”

Luz looked horrified, “Okay, well, I meant more like looking through old tomes or mixing potions or something.”

“Blech,” Eda shuddered, “that sounds like a load of magic school bullshit.”

She watched Luz’s eyes light up, “Nuh uh. You don’t wanna go there, kid. They force you to learn magic the ‘proper’ way, like there even is one to begin with. Magic is wild and unpredictable. That’s what makes it so beautiful.”

Luz did not like the sound of being forced to learn a certain way, recalling her years in the American education system, “Okay, if I don’t go there, can you teach me something here?”

Eda’s gold fang glinted in the sun as she grinned, jumping at the chance to share her ‘wisdom’, “Alright, lesson number one: a good witch is resourceful.” She grabbed Luz’s hand and dragged it through a small pool of goo before letting go.

“Hmm,” Luz studied the strange ball she had picked up. Normally she would’ve brushed it off immediately as junk, but she felt a strange aura emanating from the ball. A visual inspection revealed nothing of worth, but she decided to pocket it anyway. Just as the stench of rotting flesh hit her nose once again, she ran to the edge of the forest, dry heaving next to a tree but never actually expelling the contents of her stomach.

Eda winced at the display, “Maybe I should just let you go home early. Your nose is way more sensitive than mine or even King’s. Why don’t you head back and take it easy? We got it from here.”

“Don’t rope me into your nonsense!” A shrill voice cried out from the other side of the beach, “I’m sunbathing.” King rolled over on his towel to emphasize his point.

Luz shakily climbed to her feet, “Y-yeah. I’m just gonna walk around a bit first, catch some fresh air.”

“See ya at home, kiddo,” Eda ducked into the belly of the beast, already hunting for more junk after she gave a quick wave goodbye.

~ ~ ~ ~

Luz’s head felt ten times clearer after walking through the woods for a few minutes. She kept herself occupied by studying the plants and creatures she passed by, _Maybe I can find a book about the flora and fauna here._

She suddenly stopped walking as the sound of footsteps and light muttering reached her ears, “You can do this!” 

Luz peeked through a bush to see a short witch with shoulder length dark hair and round glasses mumbling to herself, “Even if you get a bad grade, it’s not a reflection of you as a witch. And my parents are right, there are better opportunities on this track. Now, get to school!” Luz grimaced as the girl’s foot came crashing down right onto a flower. 

_She’s really not having the best day…_

The girl scrambled to kneel next to the flower after seeing what she did, whispering apologies before reaching out and creating a spell circle.

Luz had felt magic before, Eda didn’t exactly like to do everything by hand; however, Eda was a full-grown witch and the self-proclaimed ‘Strongest Witch on the Boiling Isles.’ This witch couldn’t have been older than Luz herself, but the magic she sensed running through the witchling was much stronger than she had been expecting, especially for what seemed like such a minor spell.

The flower healed rather quickly, the girl closing her eyes in contentment. Luz nearly cooed at the little wiggling of her ears.

The rumble of wheels on the dirt path gathered the attention of both girls. 

_Someone is coming. Maybe I should go out there, I wouldn’t want that girl to get hurt because she was alone in the woods._

Her fears ceased however when another teenager approached wearing the same clothes as the first girl, _That must be their school uniform._

Luz turned her gaze to study the newcomer and… _Wow. I’m really gay…Well, bi, but my point still stands._

She was absolutely stunning. She had short green hair that cut off sharply at her chin and was pulled into a half-up style, auburn roots ever so slightly peaking through at the top of her forehead. Sharp eyeliner complimented her big amber eyes that almost glowed when the sunlight sneaking through the branches hit them at just the right angle. Manicured fingernails lined with perfect black nail polish contrasted the bright pink of her sleeves and leggings.

Luz zoned back into what was happening as the new witch _(Shit, I missed her name)_ began taunting the other’s inadequacies in magic. 

_Half-a-witch Willow? That’s awful! Aw man, the pretty girl is a bully._ She pouted and decided to ignore how genuinely sad she felt about that.

The witch finally walked off after throwing one last quip at Willow, who began to mutter to herself again, growing angrier and angrier as she continued.

A sudden wave of magic hit Luz’s senses as it began swirling inside the witch like a raging storm about to be released, and she couldn’t help but notice the feel of this kind of magic was familiar to her. Willow called forth vines from the roots of the flower she stepped on earlier. The limbs of the large plant that protruded from the ground were fast and had sharp thorns, but a last second call to her wolf within allowed Luz to jump out of the bush and dodge every strike sent her way.

The magic flowed to a stop as Willow realized she was not alone, and she turned to face the girl who had managed to evade each of her rage induced magical attacks.

Luz’s eyes had flashed red when she called on her wolf and dissipated back to brown just as they made eye contact.

“Uh, hello?”

“I am SO sorry!” Willow ran over and began to scan her body for any scrapes or bruises, “I didn’t hit you, did I?”

Luz simply waved it off, “No, no, I’m completely fine. I promise. I’m Luz by the way,” she reached out for a handshake that was readily returned.

“I’m Willow.” She stared at her curiously, “Where did you come from? How long were you back there?”

“Oh, haha, um, I saw you muttering to yourself about school before stepping on that flower. I was going to come up and talk to you, but then whoever that girl was showed up.”

Willow’s face darkened slightly, “That was Amity. She’s top student in the Abomination track and likes to ‘remind me of my place’ sometimes.”

Luz pulled a face at that, memories of her own issues with pretentious assholes coming back to her. 

Before she could speak again, Luz noticed a lingering scent in the air. It wasn’t Willow’s, which she could definitively say smelled of fresh soil after a rainstorm, nor was it anything like Eda’s, a woody smell like an old log cabin long since forgotten by society. No, this scent drew her attention for some reason, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what the exact smell was. _It’s like flowers of some kind, but it’s so distinct…_

“Hello? Hellooo?”

_Roses? No, not even close. Daisies? Sunflowers?_

And then it hit her, _cherry blossoms…_

“Luz?”

Fingers snapped in front of her face and Luz came back to the world of the living, “Wha- huh? What’s that?”

Willow raised an eyebrow, “I was trying to talk to you for like two minutes, but you were staring off into space.”

Luz blushed from the bottom of her neck to the tips of her ears, “Sorry, that happens sometimes.”

The pink drew Willow’s attention to the girl’s ears. She gasped, “Your ears! They’re so…circly. Oh my, are you human? You’re human! This is astounding!”

Luz allowed Willow to circle her, lifting her arms to examine them as she rambled on about the presence of an ‘actual human’ in the Boiling Isles.

A shrill sound cut her off. “Sorry, I have to go disappoint my teacher now,” Willow looked dejected as she began walking away.

After Luz’s ears had recovered from the sudden loud noise (they could be quite sensitive at times), she jumped in front of the other girl, “Wait!”

The exclamation startled her, but Willow still motioned for her to continue, “You don’t have a project to turn in, right?”

“I mean…” she glanced at her overturned pot and the soupy purple slime on the ground, “you could say that.”

“Okay, and you go to magic school, yeah?”

She nodded, “Hexside School for Magic and Demonics.”

Luz beamed, “I think I have an idea for how to help you out.” She paused for dramatic effect, “Make **me** your abomination!”

All Willow could do was let out a curt, “What?”

“I’ll act like your abomination!” The look on Willow’s face told Luz she needed to explain further, “I can grab some of this goop,” she gestured to the puddle on the ground, “cover myself in it, and then act like an abomination so you can get a good grade in class. Watch, I can do the sounds: Bleerrgh, gruuuum, gaah!”

Willow giggled at the display, “Well, it can’t hurt to try!”

“Sweet!” Luz pumped her fist into the air, “I get to visit a real magic school in person. Let me just…” She trailed off as she looked between the puddle and her clothes. Her brow furrowed, “I really don’t want to get some of this dirty.” She pulled off her jacket, shoes, and socks, bundled them up together, and placed them in the bush she was hiding in earlier. Now in only a black T-shirt and jeans she had already cuffed, Luz threw herself onto the ground in the middle of the slime.

“Ow…” she groaned, her voice muffled by the sludge and ground beneath it.

_Oh man, this stuff does not smell good at **all**. _

Willow winced in sympathy, “Yeah, I don’t think belly flopping into that puddle was the best idea.”

Luz flipped over onto her back and let out a strained smile at Willow, “It’s cool. I thought it’d be the fastest way to cover me in the stuff. It kinda worked but now my face hurts.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose and middle of her chest to soothe the pain slightly. 

“Anyway, into the pot!” Luz pointed a finger to the sky.

…

“Do you need help getting up?”

“Yes, please.”

Willow made hauling Luz to her feet look easy, “C’mon, I’ll show you around Hexside and then we can meet my friend Augustus on the way to class.”

Luz let out a whoop and plopped herself into the pot, “Mush!”

~ ~ ~ ~

“So how did it go?” Gus questioned as he dug around for his sandwich in his lunch bag.

Luz leaned her elbows on the edge of the pot. “Pretty well, I think. Willow even got the top student badge~,” she wiggled her eyebrows exaggeratedly.

“It was one project,” Willow turned her head, trying to hide the flush on her cheeks, “I really don’t think he should have taken it from Amity. She works really hard in that class.” She glanced at the front of her uniform where the gold star sat, “I actually feel bad about having it now.”

“Well,” Luz started as she took the offered half of Gus’s sandwich, “she is kind of a jerk.”

Willow sighed, “I mean, yeah, but that doesn’t mean her accomplishments and efforts should be disregarded.” 

Luz relented with a tilt of her head and took a bite of her sandwich before sinking into the pot again. 

“Also, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Willow said, referring to the PB&J. “If Amity saw that–”

The ensuing **thump** of Amity hitting the table caused it to shake violently, “ _ **I saw that!**_ ”

Luz could feel Amity’s approach long before she heard, saw, or smelled her coming. _Either her presence really fills up a room or I am **way** too focused on ‘very pretty girl’ from earlier. _

All she could catch Amity saying was a few grumbles about abominations not eating and accusatory questions flying her way.

Amity pulled her out of the pot by the collar of her shirt and even the awful stench of abomination goo wasn’t enough to stop Luz from picking up the intoxicating scent of cherry blossoms wafting off the girl in front of her.

_I really should be trying to act like an abomination right now…but her face is so close to mine._

Luz’s brain had promptly shut down and her eyes unfocused. The only thing she could see, smell, or hear was Amity. It was really quite distracting.

She was vaguely aware of the professor returning to send Amity to the office, but it wasn’t until she was dropped that her brain started moving again. Not very fast, mind you, but now she could recognize the fact that her whole body felt like jelly. Sinking down into the pot, Luz accepted her fate as a mindless abomination. She certainly felt like one right now.

~ ~ ~ ~

“Luz, are you okay?”

Luz didn’t hesitate to jump straight out of the pot, “Man, that thing feels so cramped after a little while.”

“ _Luz_ ,” Willow repeated, “are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. All good, why wouldn’t I be fine?” the frantic movement of her eyes around the room immediately told Willow that Luz was, in fact, not fine.

“What happened back there?”

“What do you mean? I was just acting like an abomination. Ya know, brain dead and stuff.”

Willow eyed her skeptically, “Sure, maybe I’ll give you that _at first_ , but you straight up did not respond to us for like five minutes after Amity left. And this is the first time since you’ve managed to string more than two words together!”

Luz sputtered as she desperately tried to find an out, _I can **not** tell her that I stopped functioning because ‘pretty girl very close, mmm smell nice.’ _

Turns out, Luz didn’t need to find an out as one presented itself. Downside: Amity had brought the principal to come investigate.

Principal Bump immediately began ‘testing the abomination’ by commanding her to lie down on the table.

Luz’s wolf was absolutely screaming at her for just listening to commands. It wanted to challenge Bump, make him rue the day he thought Luz could be controlled, but she managed to rein it in for the most part. Her wolf calmed slightly but stayed near the surface in case it came down to a fight.

~ ~ ~ ~

When her principal pulled out a dagger, Willow knew this was **not** going to end well. She couldn’t just run for risk of being caught, but vivisecting her new friend was _not_ on the list of things she ever wanted to do in the history of ever.

Approaching the table as slowly as possible, she whispered quietly to Luz, “You can’t just cut open humans, can you?”

She watched as Luz’s eye twitched and seemed to flash for a second before she slowly shook her head in response.

Willow cleared her throat and lifted the dagger to study it a little. She could tell Principal Bump and Amity were getting impatient as she stalled. She wrapped both hands around the dagger before pointing it directly at Luz’s chest, hands trembling in fear. She really wished she were anywhere but here right now, _I’ll even take getting cornered by Boscha and her cronies during Grudgby season over this._

“For the love of- just give that to me,” Bump reached over and snatched the knife away from the girl as she held in a sigh of relief at not having to actually go through with that.

Luz’s eyes followed the blade as it switched hands, carefully watching Bump’s every movement. As he began to bring it down over her chest, Luz’s eyes suddenly flashed a deep red as she grabbed his wrist and used his own body weight to fling him over the table and onto the floor on the other side.

Willow’s hand was grasped in a death grip as Luz dragged her from the classroom, moving as fast as she could while holding onto her friend.

Distantly, they heard Bump grumble and Amity sprint out of the room after them.

They ran and ran, making turn after turn until coming to a stop at the corner of a couple intersecting hallways. Willow took the chance to look Luz over. She was still covered in abomination goop but held herself up higher than before. She scanned the hallways for threats before turning back to meet Willow’s eyes.

The striking hazel brown Willow had become accustomed to during their short friendship had returned, no sign of red anywhere. Deciding to get a closer look, she grabbed Luz’s face and pulled her down to her level. 

“Hey! What are you–”

“Your eyes.”

A pause, slightly too long to just be of confusion, “My eyes?”

Willow let go of her cheeks and looked at Luz pointedly, “I saw them change color.”

~ ~ ~ ~

_Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit shit **shit**! Fucking hell! Of course, I finally make some friends and then my life is threatened, and they catch sight of my wolf peeking through. I want to be able to tell them eventually, but I just met them. I don’t want to scare them off…This is just fucking fantastic. _

“They were red,” Willow continued. “When Bump moved to perform an incision, your eyes flashed red right before you flipped him over the table. I thought I saw something like that earlier too, in the forest. Right after you came into view, they seemed red for just an instant before becoming brown.”

Luz gulped quietly, “Look, Willow…” 

A loud noise made her stop before she could explain. 

“Crap!” Willow yelled, “He’s locking down the school!”

Luz reached out and grabbed her hand again, “Run now, talk later.”

Willow nodded in agreement and they sprinted through the corridors once more in an attempt to reach the exit before Bump sealed them in.

They finally reached the main lobby, but abominations milling about forced them to hide behind a marble pillar to catch their breath.

“Ugh! This is all my fault,” Willow buried her head in her hands. “If I could just make a decent abomination, then you wouldn’t have almost gotten dissected.” She paused, shrinking into herself further, “Maybe people are right, maybe I am Half-a-witch Willow.” Tears threatened to fall out of her eyes as she wrapped her arms around her legs and laid her chin on top of her knees.

“No.”

She looked up, “What?”

“No!” Luz kneeled down next to her and placed a hand on Willow’s shoulder, “None of this is your fault, and you’re not half a witch. You are so incredibly strong. You’re brave and kind and…” Luz glanced down bashfully, “You’re the first friend I’ve ever had. I wouldn’t trade you for the world. Besides, I’ve got a feeling I have something that might help you see that too.”

Willow was crying by the time Luz finished speaking, but the other girl was too busy digging through her pockets to notice.

 _I know it’s around here somewhere…_

“Aha!” 

Luz pulled the seed out of her pocket and thrust it in front of Willow who gasped in both shock and relief. Finally, she could do something.

Wiping the tears from her cheeks, Willow began summoning and focusing her power. Luz watched in amazement at her friend’s magical prowess. If earlier her magic felt like a storm, now it was a full-on Category 5 hurricane, pulling up trees and ripping doors straight off their hinges. Vines burst from the seed and almost instantaneously covered every inch of the lobby. Bump himself was wrapped in them several times and thrust into the ceiling, reducing him to a mere bystander for the moment.

The seal over the door shimmered and faded, so the two girls made a run for it, knocking stray abominations out of the way left and right. They stumbled through the door, out of breath but relieved to have made it. The door slammed shut behind them.

“Woohoo!” Luz raised both fists and began to jump up and down in excitement, “Oh my god that was terrifying.”

Willow smiles softly and turns to the door, “We did it.” A hand on her shoulder caused her to turn around.

“You did it, Willow. That was all you, baby. I’m so proud of you!” Luz picked her up in a bone crushing hug, lifting her feet off the ground and spinning her in a circle.

“Y-you are very tall,” Willow gasped for air a little, “and very strong.”

Luz’s eyes widened and she smiled sheepishly as she puts her back down, “Sorry! Sorry, I got excited.”

Willow just shook her head and made her way down the stairs, “There’s definitely going to be repercussions for what we just did.”

“Probably,” Luz shrugged, “but isn’t that part of the fun?”

The wink after she said that was what made Willow finally bust into laughter, Luz quickly joining alongside her.

Their moment was interrupted by the front doors reopening. Principal Bump and Gus walked down the steps towards them.

“Miss Park, a word please?”

Willow gulped but nodded and followed Bump, separating herself from her friends.

Gus wrapped his arms around Luz’s waist. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said, his voice muffled by Luz’s shirt.

Luz felt her eyes begin to water at the genuine concern in his voice, “It’s okay, Gus. I’m all good. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” Gus didn’t respond, just snuggling deeper into the hug as she rubbed his back comfortingly.

When Willow walked back over to them, her uniform had changed. Now, she wore a vivid green where the pink used to be. Gus gasped after he pulled away, “Willow! He let you in the Plant track!”

“He let me in the Plant track!”

The three friends cheered and shared a hug, congratulating Willow on finally pursuing her dream.

“See? I told you that you were crazy freaking powerful.” Luz shook her head jokingly, “People should take me more seriously. Not to brag but,” she motioned as if to toss hair over her shoulder despite only having a short pixie cut, “I’m usually right and I’m pretty damn smart.”

“Alright, alright,” Willow rolled her eyes. “You’ve proven your point, but it’s been a long day. I say we head home.”

Gus nodded, “No arguments here.”

“Oh, but, before we go,” Willow looked slightly nervous as she turned to look at Luz, “Bump told me that you’re maybe, kinda, a little bit…banned? From the school.”

Luz waved a hand, “Ah, I’m sure it’ll be fine. No skin off my nose, I’ve got a pretty great teacher already.”

The trio walked side by side away from the school, “Oh, he didn’t happen to make a banned poster for me, did he? I bet Eda would love to see that.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Amity Blight watched the group leave from her place in the shadows, leaving her with nothing but her own thoughts.

She didn’t quite understand what happened. Obviously, she knew that whoever that was, they were most certainly **not** an abomination, but then what was their goal? Why were they here?

…

Why were they kinda cute?

_Okay, no, nope, not going there. Brain is stopping right now._

The events of the day were all Amity could think about as she walked home alone. Especially the end. She didn’t know why she couldn’t bring herself to stop them. She could’ve, she definitely could’ve. A few strategically placed abominations and they would’ve never made it out the door. So why? Why couldn’t she bring herself to do it? Maybe it was because she still felt guilty about cutting off Willow. That would explain it, but it didn’t feel like that to her. Earlier when she looked into the stranger’s eyes, she felt almost trapped. When she looked at her again as they were fleeing, she just…couldn’t. It was like everything inside of her was telling her to let it go.

She scoffed to herself, _Yeah right, like my parents are going to let this go. I’m gonna be in so much trouble when I get home._

The thought of her parents made her suddenly stop. _Shit! My parents are going to kill me!_

She took off again only this time she was running as fast as she could. “I really should’ve…ha…kept up working out after I…oof…quit Grudgby,” she muttered to herself.

Crossing through of the wrought iron gate in front of Blight Manor, Amity slowed back to a measured walk. She had to look presentable in case her parents were to look out a window and spot her approach. She reached the front door and paused to redo her hair and straighten out her uniform before walking through the ornate wooden doors.

Immediately upon entering the house, a voice rung out from deeper inside, “Amity?”

Amity gulped. Her mother’s voice always sent a shiver down her spine, but right now it sounded unbearably cold and neutral, which could mean only one thing: they knew. As much as she wanted to, Amity knew she couldn’t delay this conversation. If she didn’t reach her father’s office quickly, her punishment would be even worse.

She considered placing her bag down on the stairs but the thought of what the twins could do to her stuff made her change her mind. Tightening her grip on the strap of her bag, she willed her feet to cross the marble floor towards the office.

Turning through the doorway, the first thing Amity noticed were her parents’ ominous figures standing before the fireplace. Normally she loved this room, the shelves of books and the smell of ink and parchment were typically calming to her. However, right now, the air felt dry and cold despite the fire, and she had to swallow before finally speaking up, “Yes, Mother?”

Odalia Blight turned to face her youngest child with a withering glare on her face, “Amity, how was _school_ today?”

Amity knew from experience that that was a test. The simple question held threatening undertones telling her its true meaning: _We know something happened, so you better tell the truth or so help me Titan…_

“It, um-”

Alador Blight tilted his face in her direction slightly, “Blights do not stutter, dear.”

“Of course, Father. My apologies.” Amity cleared her throat and placed her hands delicately behind her back, “School was…eventful, to say the least.”

Her mother’s eyes narrowed, and she ran a hand along the side of her hair, _As if she would ever have a hair out of place._

“Do explain, darling.” She took a moment to scan her daughter’s appearance, “I see you no longer possess your top student badge, that does not bode well.”

Amity’s hands curled tightly into fists behind her, but she gave no further reaction, “My professor took it from me and gave it to Willow.”

Odalia’s eye twitched, “Willow? The weakling? You lost your badge to a _**weakling**_?!”

She took a step towards her daughter, and try as she might, Amity couldn’t help but flinch slightly as her mother approached. 

“She cheated!” Amity cried out desperately. “I tried to tell my professor, but he didn’t listen, so I got sent to Principal Bump. We were trying to capture her and whoever it was she was working with, but they got away.” It took everything in her, every ounce of will, to look her mother in the eyes the whole time she spoke. 

Odalia was now only a few feet away, staring down at her, “Then why didn’t you get it back? How did you let them escape? Blights do not let our enemies evade us. Why did the school have to call me at **work** to tell me what a _disgrace_ you are?” 

_Disgrace…_ The word echoed in her mind. It was not the first time she had been called that, but it never got any easier. It cut her a little deeper inside each time she heard it.

Amity pushed her emotions down and willed a stony expression on her face, “They wouldn’t listen to me, Mother. I swear I–” 

Amity was cut off by the quick motion of her mother’s hand as she pulled her arm back to strike. This time she visibly flinched away, trying to avoid the incoming pain, but the hand did not come down. 

Alador stood behind his wife, a large hand resting on her shoulder, “Dear, she did what she could. Whether it was enough or not,” a pointed stare was leveled her way, “we cannot punish her too severely for trying to make things right.” 

Reluctantly pulling back, Odalia nodded before turning to Amity, “Straight to your room. No dinner tonight.” 

“Yes, Mother.” 

~ ~ ~ ~ 

Amity waited until she was safely behind the door to her bedroom before letting out a sigh and crumbling in a heap onto her desk chair, laying her bag at her feet. Hanging her head in her hands, she tried hard not to cry at what almost happened downstairs. 

She took a few deep breaths to refocus her mind so she could get started on her homework. _I need to get ahead if I want them to lay off sooner rather than later._

Just as she was sorting through her schoolbooks and notes, Amity heard her door creak open, “Oh Mittens~!” 

_Ugh, of course this day managed to get worse._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did you believe the summary when you first read it? because holy hell, that was basically the whole chapter. Luz is a disaster bisexual, it just is what it is. Also, Gus is baby and I love him and he's so cute and I live for his relationship with his friends. Willow definitely has some confidence issues but we love our powerful plant girl.
> 
> Sorry if the notifications for this updating were weird or if you tried to read this immediately and got confused by the "Luzat first" thing. I had a few formatting issues so I had to go back and edit it a couple times should be good now.


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